Coach Pandit admits challenges, but champs KKR set to ride high

KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit

Kolkata Knight Riders' head coach Chandrakant Pandit is bracing up to challenges as his team approach IPL-18 that begins on March 22 in Kolkata. "Every year, there are new challenges. First is to defend the title. The other challenge is to build a squad with a proper combination, though we have our core group intact. I'm looking forward to this year's big challenge to retain the IPL trophy," Pandit told mid-day on Sunday. Challenges notwithstanding, the former India wicketkeeper-batsman is upbeat over KKR retaining the trophy. While KKR's IPL-17 winning captain Shreyas Iyer will lead Punjab Kings this time, KKR retained all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for Rs 23.75crore, making him the most expensive player in their line-up.

"We have a few new players, who were not part of the title-winning team last season. To understand each other will be quite important as they have played for different franchises earlier and now are part of our team. "IPL is always a very competitive tournament and we can't say any team is weak. It's a challenge for all teams, because all have new players through the mega auction," Pandit said. When asked about KKR's core group and who will lead them this year, Pandit said: "We have players like Ajinkya [Rahane], Venkatesh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Harshit Rana. I am confident they will help the team perform well this time also.

Decision on skipper soon

"In a few days we will take a decision on the captaincy [after] discussing with our franchise owners and CEO. We will come to know in one or two matches about what combination works for us." Pandit realises that KKR players also need to understand the training methods of their new support staff as team mentor Dwayne Bravo replaced IPL-17-winning mentor Gautam Gambhir, who left KKR to become Team India head coach. Abhishek Nayar, their assistant coach for the last few years, is now part of the Indian team's support staff. "We will get an idea in our upcoming camps what every player's role will be," Pandit remarked.

RCB for starters

IPL-18 kicks off with KKR hosting Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Eden Gardens on March 22. Interestingly, Pandit's state team Madhya Pradesh's skipper Rajat Patidar is RCB's new captain. He will be leading in the IPL for the first time and that too against an outfit coached by Pandit, whom he has learnt tactics from. "Though he is a new captain, there are stalwarts [like Virat Kohli] in his team. I am confident he will do well because he has the experience of leading MP. But he will have a tough time against us," added Pandit.